Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Wet Ones®, but all opinions are my own.

Whether you’re looking for a way to entertain the kids on a hot summer afternoon, or searching for educational crafts during the school year, these handprint animal crafts are a lot of fun! Anytime I mention the word “paint” the boys get stars in their eyes. They love messy crafts! Thankfully I have a great tip to keep their messes to a minimum. 😉 Read on to hear more.

Handprint Animal Crafts

With children, building a foundation and love for learning begins at home. Whether you are a teacher or homeschool parent, using Think Tank activity cards is a useful way to inspire your young learner. What are Think Tank activity cards? Continue reading for more information – plus grab FREE First Day of School Printables!

1st Grade Math Activity Cards

I’m a LeapFrog Ambassador! As part of the #LeapFrogMomSquad I have opportunities to share the latest products from the brand with all of you! Opinions are my own.

Let me introduce you to the latest learning system from LeapFrog! LeapStart is an early education product for Preschool through 1st grade aged children. The learning system is portable and includes an easy-grip stylus, sampler book, and a downloadable guide to get kids ready for school! The best part? It’s only $39.99!!! This learning toy is going to fly off shelves this holiday season – I just know it! [Read more…]

Have you ever caught yourself asking your little one, “can’t you just listen?” Well, if this is a common problem in your household I have just the App for you. Hamaguchi’sListening Power Preschool trains your little one to listen. Great, right? This learning app comes with 5 different activities that are sure to help increase your child’s auditory skills.

More about Hamaguchi’s Listening App for Preschoolers

The first activity is Listening for Grammar and Meaning. This activity helps your child listen for grammatical elements in language. For example, plurals, verb tenses, pronouns, who/what/where concepts, and preposition concepts. There are three levels of difficulty and 150 grammar questions total for this activity.

In the world of education S.T.E.M. is growing ever popular. This is the combination of science, technology, engineering, and math. The world that we live in continues to grow and develop and the skills needed for 21st century jobs seem to fall into one or all of the S.T.E.M. categories. So the question arises, how do I prepare my child to be successfully in the world that is to come? Well, MindWare can help you with that. This award-winning company has one mission and that is market a collection of unique learning products that engage, educate and entertain. [Read more…]

Do you remember making diorama’s as a kid? I do! This simple kids craft requires just a few things to create: an old shoe box, some construction paper, and an imagination. Inspired by my recent press trip to LA for The Good Dinosaur, I thought I’d teach the boys how to make a Dinosaur Diorama.

Today’s post is partnered with Pacon. All opinions are my own.

First things first! You can’t have a Dino Diorama without a dinosaur, right? 🙂 Pacon Creative Cut-Ups™ offers parents and teachers a handy book filled with creative paper projects, like dinosaurs, robots, animals and even flowers! We chose to make this green T-Rex for our diorama.

Have you or your child ever had trouble spelling a word? Thanks to the new app Easy Spelling Aid, that’s a thing of the past! The app makes spelling super fast and easy, and is especially helpful for children who are in special needs education. Using the app is simple, just press the large mic button, say the word that you are having trouble spelling, and it appears on the screen in an instant.

The Easy Spelling Aid app is so easy to use! With its high tech voice recognition software your child will be able to improve their vocabulary quickly. The Easy Spelling Aid app is the perfect tool to help children learn how to spell and write any word at home and at school. This app can spell words or phrases instantly by utilizing superior speech recognition, finely tuned to pick up on your child’s voice or accent. That’s right – the app supports 22 different languages! [Read more…]

I’m excited to announce that I’ve been selected as a LeapFrog Ambassador! As part of the #LeapFrogMomSquad I will have opportunities to share the latest products from the brand with all of you! That means you will get a first look and in depth review of the newest products hitting store shelves. And today we’re jumping into our first review!

Introducing the LeapPad Platinum, Imagicards and Word Whammer!

The LeapPad Platinum Tablet features a 7″ hi-res multi-touch screen and fast processor. With more than 1,000 learning games at your child’s disposal you can feel confident with a product like this in your little ones hands. The tablet also includes Wi-Fi with a kid-safe web browser, allowing kids to browse age-appropriate content handpicked by experts. Another great feature is the parental controls where you can decide what’s okay for your child and what’s not. [Read more…]

I am an Orbotix Ambassador. This post is part of a sponsored campaign. I received compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.

My family loves the new Sphero SPRK Edition robotic ball. Not only can you and your children learn about coding, but you can create your own code within the app, or your animals will get quite a kick out of this ingenious smart phone or tablet controlled device.

The Sphero SPRK comes in a neat box that challenges you to play with learning. With its translucent design your child can see how the device operates and pivots to obey the code you have designed. With 12 samples codes you can see not only what Sphero can do, but you can try out the different programs without any coding knowledge. SPRK is simple enough for beginners of all ages, yet sophisticated enough for seasoned programmers. It will let kids fire up their imagination and break the rules about learning! [Read more…]

As education focused parents, we’re always looking for new and exciting ways to teach our boys. While games that are entertaining are fine, it’s always nice to add an educational component – even if it’s hidden in fun! While checking out the vast array of Brainy Toys on Mindware.com, we chose to test out Geo Play, Keva Brain Builders, Animal Trivia Challenge and Leaps and Ledges.

Games for Kids

We do our best to have one family game night a week. It’s a great way to de-stress and just have fun with the kids. We usually do one game a week, but couldn’t choose between the four game choices, so we had an extended game night over the weekend. We started our fun with Geo Play, a geometric construction game with zero instructions!

Back to school time is nearing soon. Are you ready for the shopping frenzy? Don’t sweat it with these simple lunch box tips to help you streamline your schedule!

If you prefer to pack your little one’s lunch, whether it’s for savings purposes or to ensure your child is eating a well-balanced meal, my biggest recommendation is to shop early. The sales are already underway at stores like Walmart, where I shopped today. I found everything from food to school supplies on sale and easily accessible.

Back to School Lunch Box Tips

I received a product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine alone.

Another product that caught my eye at the 2015 Atlanta EdExpo was Junior Learning’s Touchtronic game. These award-winning learning apps for kids combine the physical and digital worlds into one. Perfect for classroom or home use, Touchtronic Letters and Numbers provide preschool and early education students hands-on learning. The apps are free to download for iPad users in the App Store.

Touchtronic Letters

I received product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine alone.

While attending the EdExpo Conference in Atlanta this February, I had the opportunity to learn about new educational products hitting the market later this year. One of those products, The Reading Game, caught my eye. I knew this would be a great learning tool for my little guy. If there’s one thing I’ve learned now that I’m a mom of two boys, is that all kids are different – even if their from the same family!

L is a hands on learner. He enjoys constructing, building, and art related projects. Now that he’s four, I wanted to sneak in some resourceful learning, while still having fun. The Reading Game is an award-winning game that incorporates a matching word game with flashcards and books. It’s a step by step process where the child begins by matching a set of 5 words in deck 1 of the Skunk Series, once the child has confidently learned those words, you move onto set 2 of the same series. You then use the corresponding flashcards for Skunk Series 1-2, which are 2 complete sentences of the words the child has learned to read through the matching game. The child then moves onto sets 3 & 4, learning new words and reads the sentences for that corresponding flashcard, and so on. Once the child confidently learns all 6 rounds of words in the series, they can read the Skunk Series book that is 32 pages long! [Read more…]

Last weekend I attended Edexpo in Atlanta, Ga – a large conference for educators and buyers. It was rows and rows of education based products! I think it’s a safe bet to assume we walked a few miles each day during the conference. It was definitely a lot of fun chatting with vendors, and testing out products from companies such as Crayola, School Zone, and Edupress. While there, myself along with 59 other bloggers had the opportunity to walk the floor and select our collective top 10 products we feel are the best of the best for 2015. Pete the Cat even made an appearance, check out Kim from Educators’ Spin on It and myself getting a selfie with him!

#1 is the award-winning Touchtronics Letters & Numbers from Junior Learning. Let’s face it – technology isn’t going away and younger generations are more than excited to get their hands on tablets, so Junior Learning has created a way to play and learn at the same time. Just download the free app once you’ve purchase Touchtronics and get learning! [Read more…]

With Nate working in the education field for the last 10 years and two young boys at home who love to learn, education is a huge part of our lives. We are also no stranger to technology driven learning environments, so we are always on the hunt for quality learning programs.

Disney just released a new learning brand created for families with children ages 3-8. Disney Imagicademy apps aims to engage and enrich children through the power of imagination and creativity.

The first app available is called Mickey’s Magical Math World, a fun-filled space adventure that explores concepts within a fully immersive playground of magical experiences.

I’ve partnered with Little Scholar to offer my honest review of their product. No additional compensation was received.

Brand new to the tech scene is the Little Scholar Early Learning Kids Tablet. Created by experts in early education, the Little Scholar tablet prepares children for pre-k through 1st grade. My 3-year-old was the perfect candidate to test out the new kids tablet.

Why is Little Scholar the best kids tablet?

Created with little hands in mind, Little Scholar is preloaded with School Zone’s 200+ learning apps, books, songs and videos designed to teach kids 3-7 the essential skills needed for school. That’s right – the tablet comes ready to go! No downloading necessary. Simply charge the tablet and hand it to your eager little one to begin learning. It can’t get much easier than that![Read more…]

With my first son learning came so naturally. His eyes were always eager with learning new things. That’s probably why he’s 6 and in 2nd grade, and the gifted program! My 3-year-old son is a different learner. He enjoys building and playing much more than learning. That’s why I have to get creative with my learning activities for him. It has to be fun and educational.

Tiggly Counts is the first iPad math toy intended for children ages 3 and older. Inspired by classic cuisenaire rods used in Montessori education, Tiggly Counts includes a set of five colorful counting Toys that interact with three parent-and educator-approved Tiggly iPad learning apps.

About the 3 Free Tiggly Counts Apps:

How to prepare your child for Kindergarten in just 2 weeks

Many parents are having issues with the Common Core Standards for a variety of reasons, but the CCS is being implemented in almost every school in the country beginning this August. If your child is going to Kindergarten this year, this will be your first taste of the CCS. Getting your child ready for Kindergarten and CCS can be done in the first two weeks before school begins.

CCS will focus on “representing and comparing whole numbers, initially with sets of objects; describing shapes and space” in Kindergarten and most learning time will be dedicated to numbers and math. Students will learn to write numbers and to use them to represent quantities. They will learn basic addition and subtraction, will show these problems with objects and groups of objects, and will learn and use shapes to describe their worlds. They will learn key words and how to use them in a sentence.

Educational toys that are eco-friendly have become more in-demand over the last couple of years. Whenever possible I try to find products that are not only fun for the kids, but have an educational element while being free of toxins and chemicals. I was happy to come across Tobo Toys who recently introduced their first product: Tobo Track.

This is a sponsored campaign with Chalk Preschool. All opinions are my own.

CHALK Preschool is a free online preschool curriculum that includes core subjects like literacy, math, and science. It’s geared towards children ages two through five and has different classes for each child based on their birthday. My five year old is in the orange room, while my almost three year old is in the blue room.

I love being a K’NEX Ambassador and sharing my favorites from their toy line. I like that all of the K’NEX toys have learning elements to them, helping children of all ages to grow and learn as they play. But they actually carry a K’NEX Education line that uses STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts taught through problem-solving, discovery, exploratory learning and critical thinking. STEM Education requires students to be active participants in the learning. K’NEX® models offer hands-on learning opportunities that encourage scientific inquiry, investigation and experimentation. These toys are great for home-schooled children, and classroom children alike.

Other products from the K’NEX Education line cover learning for Early Childhood, Biology, Math and Geometry, and Spatial Building Sets. This month we had the opportunity to review the K’NEX Education Simple & Compound Machines building set.

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with CosmoCamp and MomSelect. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kids love playing with apps, but it can be challenging to find ones that are both entertaining and educational. Recently we had the opportunity to test out 4 apps from CosmoCamp, a series of interactive storybooks and creative game applications. The apps are perfectly suited for kids ages 2-5, which covers both of our boys ages. And since my husband works in the field of education, you can bet we put these apps to the test.

I can not believe how fast summer is flying by! In just one month my little guy will be headed off to Kindergarten, oh my! That means our family time with Daddy will come to an end as well (since he’s a teacher). In preparation of back to school, we’ve teamed up with Fellowes to create some awesome project ideas.

First, let me introduce you to Fellowes Saturn2 95 laminator. This is seriously the coolest gadget!! I love how easy it is to use, and the finished product looks amazing.

In this technologically advanced society it’s no surprise that children as young as three and four are getting in on the trend. Studies have shown that children who have computers at home performed much higher in reading and math than children who do not have access to computers.

My 4-year-old son is a perfect example of this statistic. Since the age of three he has been fascinated by the computer and tablet we own. Considering he sees Mommy and Daddy using them quite often, it makes a lot of sense he would show interest.

Super J has been reading since age three. Yes, reading. He knows how to spell, write age appropriate words, and many other advanced learning skills. We have seen the benefits firsthand of a child using technology and we’re impressed.

There’s an overwhelming amount of educational games and age appropriate learning apps that exist for preschoolers. Many of them help children trace letters, fine-tune motor skills, teach them how to spell, read, and encourage imagination.

I highly encourage any parent to take the time to show their child how to use a computer or tablet. If you don’t own one, there are many county libraries that offer computer access. Even one day a week can make a difference.

We of course limit the amount of time our son spends on the tablet/home computer. It’s typically an hour a day based on good behavior. It’s a great reward system tool and it benefits his learning in the end.

Disclosure: All opinions are my own and may differ from yours. No compensation was received for this post.

Kids are like sponges; they want to absorb, learn and grow, and at a rapid pace. My son is a shining example of that. He is thirsty for knowledge and loves asking thousands of questions a day pertaining to whatever we’re doing, where we are going, etc. I should really keep a running tally…I bet that thousand mark isn’t too off. 😉 Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful to be a stay at home Mom and I think it’s worked favorably in my 4-year-old’s case. In preparation for his upcoming pre-k year we began using site words, white boards for simple math equations, reading programs and more. I recently came across School Zone and their abundance of workbooks and other learning tools and knew this would be perfect for my son.

The School Zone Advantage:

The most experienced, trusted, and popular publisher of preschool and elementary workbooks, software, and flash cards for children-Over 350 million products sold in 30+ years.

By teachers, for teachers and parents – Our research-based content, developed by leading educators, delivers state-of-the-art products for individual learning styles and goals.

Outstanding value – Products brimming with more content, color, creativity, and bonus features at prices usually lower than other publishers.

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